P4: One Girl's Happiness
by Raidou The 16th
Summary: Bitter memories, lost friends and powerful foes. Companion piece of Persona 4: Chaos Ending. Series of alternate happenings in the storyline. First arc: One Girl's Happiness. R&R, Enjoy.
1. One Girl's Happiness: pt 1

**YO, YA'LL! So... months without updating anything... anyway, self pity aside, I'm bringing something kinda new, today. It's like a series of Side Quests of my main story, Persona 4: Chaos Ending. If you don't read that, you kinda won't understand anything, so... go. I'll wait...**

**You read it? Good. I don't own anything. Please, review, or else I'll cry. Let's get this started.**

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Kanji was trying to find an opening, an opportunity to hit a punch or something on one of those two clowns, but they were outright annoying! So, he was sticking to defensive tactics, until he found said opening. Thing is, they were so tight together, it was starting to aggravate Kanji. But they weren't very fast. Hmmm... what if...

"You're going down!" One of the punks Kanji was facing threw a punch at his face, which Kanji avoided by swaying to the right, and sure enough, the space between the two was clearly visible.

So dodging it is, then. Kanji kept dodging, ducking, and stepping to his left, until he felt that he was outside of the reach of one of them, and within the other's striking distance.

"Go to hell!" The closer thug yelled at Kanji, seemingly losing his cool, and threw a long and wide punch. At the same time, Kanji could hear Yu yelling 'Tiger Knee', but that wasn't important. Kanji just swayed back at the punch, then delivered a spartan kick at the thug's gut, then followed with a brutal chopping right, knocking him out cold, and making the other thug somewhat falter in his approach.

Only one more. This'll be easy. Kanji casually walked towards the remaining thug, who turned his head away for whatever reason, and threw as hard of a right straight as he could, but the dude wasn't falling. How?

Oh.

Yu punched him at the same time.

This'll hurt in the morning.

Eventually, they let go of the 'brofist' and let the poor sod fall limp to the ground.

Yu looked at the eight unconscious bodies sprawled on the sidewalk around him. Wow... oh right, he had to ask Kanji some stuff. But first, show concern.

"Are you okay?" Yu asked as he walked over to Kanji. The latter just wiped some sweat from his forehead.

"I'm fine... just a little tired." Kanji answered.

Yu gave a brief glance at his surroundings. "Uhh, why were you fighting eight dudes at once, if I may ask?"

Kanji took a look at his surroundings. That was a lot of people down. And the girl was still nowhere to be seen. He sighed. "I was just going out to buy some tofu when I saw those two dudes" He pointed at their general direction. "bullying this little blond girl. But one of them was already out like a light. I found it weird, but I stepped up to help the girl anyway. I punched the first one, then the second one ran away. He came back later with his friends" He motioned at the rest of the unconscious people. Some groans could be heard. ", then I told the girl to hide in the alleyway, and I haven't seen her since. After that, your guitar arrived"

"Bass."

"Yeah, whatever. Still, I never saw that girl around here. I wonder if she's lost..." Kanji mused aloud.

Yu rubbed his chin. Hmmm... Yu never really saw a blond girl around here, either. This was strange. Yu looked up at the sky. Those were some dark clouds coming. It's gonna rain tonight. Meh. She probably found her parents somewhere and went home. But the part about one of the dudes being unconscious before Kanji arrived... and he apparently didn't get up since... this is weird. Who IS that girl, actually?

Yu decided to go look for her.

"Kanji, you said that you never saw this girl around here, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I think we should go look for her."

"Me, too. She mustn't have gone that far. I'll go search nearby."

"You do that. If that fails, I'll be asking around. If a blond little girl was to walk alone in this small town, I'm pretty positive that at least someone saw her. What exactly does she look like?"

Kanji described her. Blue dress, with a white ribbon around her waist, white headband, around 140cm tall, blue eyes, and somewhat pale. "That's pretty much it. We meet at this same spot in an hour, agreed?" Kanji asked.

Yu looked at Kanji with a raised eyebrow. Kanji speaking politely... was so out of place. But eh. A change for the better, Yu supposes. "Okay." Yu said.

With that, they parted ways. Yu started asking the people on the streets, but got no real information. Then, he decided to ask around in the stores. Only in the tofu shop he got his first lead.

"Umm, excuse me, miss..." Yu said as he entered the shop.

"Oh, Yu-chan. What can I help you with, today?" The elder lady, Rise's grandmother, replied with a warm smile, as always. It's almost like it was her who taught Rise that winning smile of hers, but that's besides the point.

"I am sorry to bug you with this, but have you seen a blond little girl around here? She has long straight hair, and is most likely wearing a blue dress." Yu asked.

"A blond girl? Yes, I saw a girl with this cute blue dress, alone, near the shrine, earlier today. I didn't see her again, however."

Yes! Progress, at last! "Thank you very much. And... by any chance... is Rise home?" Yu asked.

"You're welcome, dear. And no, Rise is not home. She's gone for a walk, without saying anything... she's been doing that a lot, lately. Perhaps to clear her mind from her stress." The old shopkeeper replied friendly, with a hint of concern.

"Okay. Thanks again, ma'am." Yu bowed, and excused himself.

Just as he left the shop, the old man that always took care of the shrine was passing by. Yu didn't talk to him before, so now would be the perfect time.

"Excuse me, sir." Yu called his attention.

"Oh... Hello, boy. What do ya need?" The old man replied.

"Well, have you seen a blond little girl with straight hair, and wearing a blue dress around here? I'm afraid she's lost..." Yu rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yea. Cute lil' button, she was. She was in the shrine all alone, a while ago. I dunno why, tho."

There must be some clue at the shrine. Okay, maybe not 'must', but maybe there'd be something useful there. "Thank you for your help, sir." Yu bowed.

"Eh. No need to be so uptight, kid. Yer welcome."

... Uptight. Sure. Uhh... where were we? Oh. Yu looked at his watch. There was still some time. Kanji probably decided to go ask around, too. So, to the shrine, it was.

Upon arriving there, he didn't really find much. Not a trace of her, or anyone, really.

"Yip!"

That is, until the Fox appeared on the ceiling, and jumped down, gracefully landing on its paws, as usual.

Also as usual, it had an ema in its mouth. Yu took it and read it, while petting the apron wearing fox, who was growling lowly for some reason...

_"I wish I had friends... Nobody wants to be my friend. I'm so lonely..._

_Alice."_

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**So? What did you think? Again, please, review. It's very important. See ya'll in the next chapter.**


	2. One Girl's Happiness: pt 2

**Yo, y'all! So, another chapter. Not much to say, this time around, aside from the usual. I don't own anything, and read Chaos Ending before reading this story. Enjoy.**

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The ema was written in english with a cute, cursive handwriting, and red ink. A wee bit dark, but still red. The fox looked up expectantly at Yu, and he knew what that meant.

"Sure." Yu smiled as he kept petting the fox. "I'll try to make that happen." He stood up, and the fox started prancing around gleefully, before looking at Yu, fuelled with contentment. After that, Yu took his leave.

Kanji was already in front of the textile shop, waiting for Yu.

"So? Found anything?" Kanji asked, hopeful.

"Yeah. Well, judging on how many people never saw her around, I guess it's safe to assume that she's not from around here, indeed. And the only people that saw her pretty much said that she was alone. Apparently, she left left an ema at the shrine, and-"

"How do you know it was her who wrote it?" Kanji cut in.

"Well..." Yu showed Kanji the ema. "It's written in english. It says 'I wish I had friends'. Since no one else in the shopping district saw her, I think it's safe to assume that she wasn't seen since she entered the shrine. I'll keep asking around, though. And I'll try to contact Yosuke to see if he can help, too. His shift should be over by now. Yu said, and Kanji nodded.

"I'll try to keep an eye open, too." Kanji replied.

Yu still had that nagging feeling whenever Kanji finished a sentence without cursing, or anything like that. It was too out of his character. Yu just decided to keep an eye on Kanji, though.

"Well, then. See ya, Kanji." Yu waved Kanji off, to which the latter just nodded in reply. While walking, Yu speed dialed Yosuke's number. After a few rings, Yosuke picked up.

"Yo, what's up?" Yosuke greeted.

"Yosuke, have you ever seen a blond little girl with long, straight hair around Inaba like, at all?" Yu asked.

"Huh? What's that, all of a sudden?"

"Kanji said that this little girl was being bullied, and he proceeded to help her, but he didn't see her since. We're currently searching for her."

"Oh... no, I never really saw a girl like that."

"If you can, try asking around to see if anyone knows, or seen a girl like that. I got some leads, but it only says where she's been, and not where she's going."

"Oh, really? What is it?"

"An ema written in english, with a child-like handwriting. It has the name Alice."

Yosuke let out a short sigh. "Dude, aren't you worried that you might be far-fetching things a bit? I mean, she COULD just be at the Amagi Inn with her parents, or something."

... Yosuke may be right. Maybe Yu did go a little too far on that one. But he still couldn't shake the feeling that he should pursue this 'case'. Call that Fool's intuition.

"But... just keep asking around, for now. We don't know if she's safe yet, and I'll give the Inn a call, later. If she's out of town... there'll be no way of knowing, but just keep at it."

Yosuke sighed and pinched his forehead on his side of the line. "Alright. I'll try."

"Thanks. I'll call you later. See ya, man."

"See ya." Yosuke replied, a bit apathetic. Yu hung up the phone. He could also contact Chie and Yukiko, and Rise, but he doubted either Chie or Yukiko would want any part on this. Rise, though... Yu wasn't really sure about Rise. He decided not to call her, but just send her a message, explaining the circumstances of the investigation. After a while, she replied, saying that she would indeed help, even going as far as to say 'no prob'. Color Yu surprised. He just thanked her and left it at that. If she came across something, she could just text back.

After that, Yu decided to ask around in the flooplains, and in the school zone, but not to much avail. No one saw a girl like that... Alice.

It was starting to get late, so Yu headed home before it started raining.

**-Dojima Residence-**

After such exhausting day, Yu went over to the fridge and something to eat. As the downpour outside intensified, he watched TV, as the weather forecast said that this rain wasn't going to last long, and fog was not to be expected. After finishing his meal, he went upstairs to take a shower, and after that, he sat on the couch, just to think about what's been happening.

Sunday, huh? What could that 'truth' be? and why was Lucifer himself was testing Yu and Yosuke to see if they're worthy of said truth? So many questions were lingering about... everything was such a mess.

On TV, the highlight of the week was the death of the Detective PrinceSS, Naoto Shirogane. Her secret was revealed, and all kinds of rumors appeared. Every time Yu caught a glimpse of those news, he'd close his eyes, and plug his ears, or storm out of the place where those news were being shown. He knew he had to move on, but he just wasn't strong enough, and he doubted he would ever be.

That, and he didn't get started with Junes comercials. Yu would die to get the thought out of his head. He'd like to pretend that none of that happened, he didn't lose anyone, there wasn'teven anyone to lose, to begin with.

Problem is: it's hard to forget about the people you knew and loved. Even harder to forget the fact that they're gone forever. Forever and and ever. Leaving Yu behing to suffer. Forever and always...

Yu looked at the clock. Two minutes to midnight. He turned off the lights and unplugged his TV, to see if the Midnight Channel would happen today.

Then, midnight struck.

The TV sprung to life: a very clear image of a blond girl wearing a white hairband, a blue dress with a big white ribbon around her waist. The background was familiar: it was the throne room of Yukiko's castle.

The girl, presumably Alice, began speaking in a sad, lonely tone, quivering ever so slightly.

"Why... won't anyone be my friend? Please... I just want a friend..." She said, while looking down, and eventually wiping some tears.

Then, she raised her head, and stared right into the 'camera'... no... she was staring directly at Yu... those blue eyes of hers piercing through even his personae, and reaching his very soul.

"And you...? Will you be my friend?"

"Will you please... Die for me?"

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**There, done. Please, review, or else I'll cry. Like, real talk. Reviews are XP, and without enough XP, I can't reach the required level to post new chapters, so... the review box is right there. See y'all next chapter.  
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	3. One Girl's Happiness: pt 3

**Yo, y'all. So... new chapter. Read Chaos Ending, review, I don't own anything, blah blah blah, the usual. Enjoy.**

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As she said that, the Midnight Channel tuned out, and Yu snapped out of his daze. Just now he realized that the girl was speaking English throughout the whole broadcast.

His cell phone started ringing. Yosuke. Yu dumbly flipped the phone open to answer the call.

"Uhhh..." Was all Yu could muster, at that moment.

"Dude, wake up! Who was that just now?" Yosuke asked.

Yu blinked twice. "Oh... right. Sorry. I that was the girl we were looking for."

"Huh. Figured out as much. So... what was that about... 'Die for me'? That creeped me out..."

"I don't know... all I know is that I'll sleep with the lights on, today." Yu tried to snark.

Yosuke shrugged on his side of the line. "And it was already a clear picture... I guess she's already inside the TV."

Yu regained his composure. "Yeah... let's try and come up with a plan, later."

"Alright. Whoever it is, we gotta go rescue her. For now, though, I'll try to sleep. Try. Welp, see ya later, man."

"See ya." Yu hung up.

Just then, his phone ringed again. Kanji. Flip the phone open. Greet. "Yo."

"Senpai! That was that girl! What the hell is going on?! We gotta go-"

"Calm down, Kanji. Yeah, I know it's her. We'll meet up later and see what we'll do. I've contacted Yosuke, and Rise is likely to show up, too." "Then I'll call Chie-senpai and Yuki-"

"NO!" Pause. "... don't. We got this, no problem." Yu said, trying to hide his worries under the tone of leadership in his voice.

Kanji took a while to speak again. "... okay. Your call. But we've GOTTA go save her."

Was that... a threat? Yu deepened his voice a bit to try and overpower Kanji's tone, but reassure him at the same time. "And we will. Now to try to go to sleep and get some rest."

"...Alright. Later, senpai." Kanji replied, still a bit reluctant.

"Later, Kanji." Yu said, putting a slight emphasis on 'later'. Yu could hear Kanji's sigh before he hung up.

During the call, Yu also received a message from Rise.

_/I saw the MC. It must've been that girl, right?/_

Yu sighed before typing. _/Yes, it was. We'll meet later to make heads or tails of what's going on. And try not to contact Chie or Yukiko about this. It's_ _complicated./ _He sent the message.

Rise quickly replied. _/K. See ya tmrw XD/_

Usual Rise. Bubbly even through text. Well, at least she was willing to cooperate.

But alas, Yu sighed. More drama. Maybe all he needed was a good night of sleep to get his mind straight.

And go for a night of sleep he did.

...

Yu woke up normally in the morning. He felt the need to take a cold shower, to be ready for the day. After going through the usual ritual of eating breakfast and getting ready, he headed to the school. As is usual, classes were boring, Yukiko wasn't looking at his face at all, girls were talking about the eight dudes found sprawled on the ground at the shopping district, one apparently still unconscious... the everyday life in Yasogami. The only thing out of the 'ordinary' was the fact that Chie was absent. Yu and Yosuke were just trying to fast-forward the classes, really.

After the long hours passed, the bell finally rang. Yu and Yosuke wasted no time going downstairs to meet Kanji and Rise, but ended up bumping into their underclassmen on their way up.

"Hi, senpai." Rise greeted cheerfully.

"Sup." Kanji greeted in his usual way.

"So... you two know what's up, right?" Yosuke asked.

"Yeah, I guess..." Rise replied, while Kanji just nodded.

"Then let's go to Junes. I'll explain everything in detail, since I was kind of in a rush yesterday and just left Rise with the gist of it." Yu turned to Rise. "Sorry about that... " He scratched the back of his head.

"That shouldn't be a problem. I guess we have enough leads to find her ourselves, yes?" Kanji asked.

... Okay, Kanji speaking politely was starting to creep Yu out. But he was still going to leave that be. That was a good thing, right? Only not normal, but still good.

Now, focus.

"Yeah, but she still needs to be on the know of what happened. Let's go." Yu said, and everybody nodded. Except Yosuke, who seemed to be a bit lost in thought. Maybe because Chie wasn't present. Eventually, he snapped out of his daze and followed the rest.

**-Junes, Food Court-**

Yu explained the circumstances of the investigation to everybody.

"Soooo... you and Kanji took out seven guys?" Rise asked.

"Yep." Yu replied.

"And you threw a bass at someone's face?" It was Yosuke's turn to ask.

"Yep." Yu replied again.

"You guys are so badass~" Rise fangirled over Kanji and Yu, then proceed to hug them both, nearly tipping Kanji's chair in the process. Yosuke just decided to get up and brofist Yu and Kanji.

Yu knew that none of that was necessary, but he just felt awesome.

Ahem...

"Soo, back on topic. Apparently, as you know, this 'Alice' is in Yukiko's castle. She may have created her own world that looks like Yukiko's castle, though. A possibility, but highly unlikely. If she is indeed in Yukiko's castle and hasn't created a world of her own, well, I'm pretty afraid of what we're in for..."

Yu shuddered a bit. For all he knows, her being the 'truth' behind everything was actually a possibility, too. So many unanswered questions... Regardless, no use pondering when the answer was right in front of their faces.

"Anyway, Yosuke and Kanji: are you two okay with your weapons?"

"Yeah, I've grown pretty used to those kitchen knives. I'm good." Yosuke replied confidently.

"My shield is also alright. I'm ready." Kanji replied nonchalantly.

"And Rise." Yu thought about asking if she was okay with joining on this mission, but what if she declined in the last minute? Better not leave her much choice, from his part. "Thanks for coming to help."

"No prob, senpai. I kinda owe you guys my life, soo..." Rise blushed slightly and looked at her feet, in an embarrassed way. Yu knew it was just an act so she could be cute, but dammit, did that work.

Her little act brought a slight smile to Yu's face, but now was not the time for smiles.

"Okay. If everyone's ready, let's go in." No objections were raised, and after making sure that no one would spot them, they entered the TV world.

**-Entrance Hall-**

"Rise, could you give it a quick scan to localize this girl? If you need something specific..." Yu rumaged through his pockets. "... I think this could help." He handed Rise the ema he received from the Fox.

"Hmm... 'I wish I had friends', huh? I could try." Rise said, as she called forth Kanzeon and clutched the ema close to her chest. After some seconds, she dismissed her persona. "She's in the same place as that annoying little king we defeated. But there's something... out of place. It's hard to describe... I can sense that the girl is alone, but there's some huge power with her there. Also, there are no Shadows, whatsoever..." Rise stated.

"Oh... wait, you can tell that much?" Yosuke asked.

"Yeah. I feel like I've been more... in tune... with my persona, lately." Rise answered.

"Alright." Yu began passing around everyone's weapons, which were always kept inside a golden chest that Teddie brought to the entrance hall. "Let's go. Lead the way, Rise."

The trek to Yukiko's Castle was pretty much uneventful, save for some mumblings about the girl from Kanji. They eventually reached the place, where Yu recapped the plans, objectives, and confirmed some things.

"Are you sure there are no Shadows inside, Rise?" Yu asked.

"Positive. Not a single one." She replied.

"Works better for us. Though this could bode danger, as well. Be on guard at all times, as always. Well, let's head in." Yu said, and head in they did.

The castle was indeed empty, and eerily quiet. And the fog was much lighter... odd.

Silence prevailed until they reached the third flight of stairs. "Uhh, guys? You may or may not know this, but I've been thinking... we may not be in for a rescue mission, this time." Kanji broke the silence.

Kanji was the one to kill the charade? Weeeird. Again. But for now, reassurance. "Yes, it's a possibility. But like I said..." Yu made a brief pause, as if to let the sentence sink in with more effect. "Keep your guard up at all times, and we will be fine." He completed.

The rest of the climb was pretty much quiet and peaceful. Even the voices that they usually heard whenever they traveled through someone's world were absent. Which was odd. In fact, nearly everything in this whole mess was odd. But come what may, they'd be ready.

Right...?

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**There, done. Send me your opinion, criticize, flame, whatever you want. See y'all next chapter.**


	4. One Girl's Happiness: Battle

**Sup? Sorry about the delay. Anyway, I don't own anything, review, or else I'll cry, enjoy, bla bla bla. It might be a good idea to listen to the Fiend battle theme of SMT: Nocturne while reading this chapter. Without any more delay, let's get this started.**

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They finally reached the eighth floor. The big, luxurious door stood in front of them, closed.

"This is where the presence is coming from." Rise stated.

Yu sighed. "Are you all ready?" He asked, examining the others' faces. Yosuke was determined, Rise was confident, and Kanji was calm. The three of them answered Yu with a firm nod.

"Alright..." Yu said before opening the doors to the royal chamber. He was met with the sight of a lonely little girl sat on the majestic throne, absently swinging her legs back and forth. She was quite adorable.

"Hey, umm... Alice?" Yu called out to her, catching her attention.

She glanced at Yu and tilted her head slightly to the side in confusion. Yu continued. "I, uh... I'm Yu. Those are my friends, and we've come to take you back home..."

"... Home?" Alice answered with a question.

"Yeah. Your parents must be worried about you..." Yu was being extra careful with his words.

"I don't have parents. I just have Uncle Red and Uncle Black. And they are being mean to me..." Alice puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms. "They wanna keep me locked... I have nowhere to go..." She trailed off.

Yu cringed inwardly. This wasn't going as well as he hoped. "But still, this place is dangerous. You shouldn't stay here for too long, or else bad things will happen..." Yu tried to talk to her in the way a father would to a child.

And while he was talking, he was already calculating the other possibilities. The lack of her Shadow, even after Yu reminded her of her lack of parents was alerting, to say the least. He put Izanagi at ready in his mind, just in case.

"But if I go back, I won't have anyone... I'll be alone..." She lowered her head. "... Oh! I know!" She hopped down from her throne. "How about you be my friends?" She fixated her gaze on Yu. "Will you be my friend, mister?" She asked.

As her pleading voice reached Yu's ears, he felt as if he couldn't say no to her. How could anyone say no to such a cute face? He got down to one knee and opened his arms, inviting her for a brotherly hug. The moment was like a movie scene. She smiled, and came prancing happily towards him with her hands behind her back, as he opened a big, goofy grin. He could even feel a warmth as she got closer and closer until-

"SENPAI!"

Yu snapped out of his daze. Why was he on his knees?

Why did he look ready to hug someone?

When did Alice get so close to him?

Alice brought her hands forward, fully charged with a hellish red fire, and was ready to launch the fire on her left hand at Yu, until Kanji tackled him out of the way of the attack.

Alice didn't stop however, and threw the flames of her right hand at both Kanji and Yu.

Yu finally managed to fully get his wits together and quickly switched to Loki. He summoned the persona, and the Norse trickster god stood in front of the flames, absorbing the attack.

Yosuke gritted his teeth, and summoned Susano-O to launch a Garudyne towards Alice, but as soon as she turned towards the source of the gales, she moved to Yosuke's side in the blink of an eye.

"What the..." Were Yosuke's last words before Alice slapped him across the cheek.

And sent him flying back.

He landed on his back with a thump. He would've crashed on Rise, had she not chosen to stay outside the room to give her support from the other side of the door.

Yu and Kanji got up, and went to Yosuke's aid, as Alice went back to her throne.

"Soon, all of you will be my friends..." She said, as she took a seat, and waved her index finger about, tracing an upside-down star with a purple energy of some sort in the air.

Yu raised an eyebrow at that, but then he felt a sudden surge of power under him, Yosuke and Kanji.

"Dammit... MOVE!" He shoved Kanji out of the curse emblem that formed under them, and Yosuke was quick enough to jump out of it. Yu simply stood in the middle of it and summoned Loki, as the emblem burst into a storm of darkness.

"Bufudyne!" He commanded, and Loki tried to freeze Alice in place with a huge block of ice, but Alice had blinked away from her throne before the attack even began, and was already in front of Yu.

Yu quickly drew his katana and tried a slash at Alice, but she suddenly appeared behind him and clumsily punched him in the ribs, sending him skidding to the side.

"Gr..." Yu clutched his bruised side, and turned towards the approaching Alice, but she was soon halted by a bolt of lightning crashing down on her.

She turned towards Kanji, who had Take Mikazuchi out, and sped towards him in a blur, but she was halted again by a strong gust hitting her dead on.

"Haha!" Yosuke twirled his knives between is fingers, as if to taunt Alice. She turned towards him, and she was getting annoyed.

She glided her way towards Yosuke, but was quickly stopped by Take Mikazuchi. The god of thunder swung at her with the blunt side of his lightning sword, sending her flying toward Yu with a Mighty Swing.

Yu readied his katana like a baseball bat, and swung it with full force at the incoming Alice...

But Alice disappeared in mid air, making Yu miss the swing. She then tried to cover his eyes from behind using her hands, which were glowing pink.

"Guess wh- Agh!" But was interrupted by a Garudyne surging from under her and Yu, which blasted both of them, but got Alice off Yu's back.

"Grr... I'm getting sick of you meanies!" Alice threw a slight fit as Yu got up...

Then an Agidyne suddenly exploded on Kanji's face, blasting him back.

"Shit... Rise, how's the scan going?!" Yu switched back to Loki and went to Yosuke's side as Kanji got up.

"Don't use fire on her, but you already knew that... as for weaknesses, I still don't know... hit her with everything you've got, for now."

Yu sighed and took his stance again, as Yosuke summoned Susano-O.

"Brave Blade!" The persona sent his circular blade soaring at blind speed towards Alice, who just jumped over it, making the blade get stuck on the wall behind her, before disappearing along with Susano-O.

"Mabufudyne!" It was Yu's turn to attack, summoning Loki and making massive ice spikes surging from under Alice, or rather, where Alice would've been, had she not moved swiftly out of the way.

"Ziodyne!" Kanji summoned Take Mikazuchi and made lightning rain down on Alice, but she simply spun out of the way and sent a fireball towards Yosuke, who weaved hurriedly to the side.

"We need a plan... and fast." Yosuke said, dodging another fireball.

"I'm thinking!" Yu and Kanji said in unision, as Kanji jumped out of a smaller curse emblem underneath him.

Yu threw a glance at Kanji, but he chose to shrug it off.

Yu sighed. "Yosuke, We'll need a Masukukaja like, right now." He then roared, charging his sword with electricity and charging towards Alice, feeling the boost in speed halfway through his advance.

He jumped, and then brought his sword down on Alice with an overhead slash, but Alice sidestepped it just barely. Yu wasn't about to stop however, and followed up with a turning slash, forcing Alice to catch his blade with her hand.

"KANJI!" Yu called, and Kanji was quick to summon his persona and make lightning crash upon her, shocking her for a brief moment.

Yu did not miss the chance to switch to Izanagi.

"Cross..." He intensified the electricity on his sword and power charged, before dealing a vicious spinning slash at Alice, sending her skidding back a bit, but he wasn't about to relent.

"SLASH!" He crushed Izanagi's card, and the persona appeared some meters above Alice, before bringing his naginata down on a mighty overhead slash, knocking Alice down.

Yosuke took the opportunity and ran. He used a Garudyne to jump over Yu, and came down with a dive kick, but his foot found nothing but ground, as Alice had disappeared before he could land his kick.

She was now in front of her throne, with her eyes glowing red.

"Hmph. That's it! I hate you all!" Alice stomped the ground on a slight tantrum, and soon after, all the veils in the room turned black with a dark energy.

"Oh... crap..." Kanji, Yosuke and Yu said in unision as the grew darker.

Alice brought her hands together, and the veils started moving as if they had come to life, speeding towards Yosuke and Kanji.

Kanji, being rather slow, did not have time to dodge, or do anything against the veils, and quickly got caught by his left foot and being hung upside down.

Yosuke tried his best to sidestep and weave out of the veils' reach, but his left arm got caught, and he was lifted off the ground, kicking and yelling. He tried to use his free hand to slash at the veils, but his knife passed cleanly through the fabric, almost as if it was intangible...

"GUYS!" Yu watched helplessly as his friends got caught in the veils, and were lifted off the ground. He summoned Loki, and sent the persona after Yosuke to try and pull him down, but it was of no use.

Alice snapped her finger, and the veils became wild like fire, and rendered Kanji and Yosuke unconscious with a surge of darkness.

Alice, then turned her attention towards Yu, and thrust her hands forward. The remaining veils shot in his direction, and Yu braced himself, gritting his teeth and closing his eyes...

But the veils passed cleanly through him, like they were made of air.

"Huh?" Alice tilted her head. "... why?"

Rise suddenly blared inside Yu's head. "SENPAI! I found her weakness! It's light!"

Dammit... Yu didn't have a single light skill in his arsenal. He sifted through his pockets.. and found an Expel Needle! Yes! Now, how was he going to hit this thing? Alice was waay too fast...

Alice growled lowly and advanced towards Yu at blind speed. She tried to slap him, but Yu just barely ducked and backed away. Alice didn't stop, and followed up with a clumsy looking punch. Yu blocked it with his katana, and was sent skidding back a bit.

Yu summoned Loki, and flung a Bufudyne spike in Alice's direction, but she glided out of the way, and sped towards Yu again, this time shoving him back hard, and making him collide with the wall.

He regained his posture, and watched Alice approaching again, readying another slap. Yu blocked the slap with his katana and thrusted a palm to her face with his free hand. She staggered slightly, and Yu used the time to do a big horizontal slash, if only to gain space.

What he didn't expect, was Alice grabbing his katana with both hands, pulling it away from him, then grabbing his wrist.

Yu tried to jerk his hand away, but Alice's grip was too strong for him to break free. She tug on Yu's arm forcefully, making him falter forward, then started spinning, eventually lifting Yu off the ground.

She chuckled a bit, looking like she was having fun, before releasing Yu, sending him flying to the ground. The fall knocked some air out of his lungs.

He coughed and got up to one knee, and watched Alice walk towards him.

He blinked once.

Alice was in front of him, grabbing him by the throat with both hands and applying crushing force to his wind pipe.

She was giggling constantly, as his vision became blurrier and blurrier with lack of oxygen. The last thing he heard was Rise's muffled voice in his head...

Before he focused once more and quickly whipped the Expel Needle out of his pocket, and thrust it into Alice's stomach.

A surge of blinding light filled the room, and even turned the veils back to normal, but Yosuke and Kanji were still tied and unconscious.

Alice, however, was sent staggering back, unable to contain her unearthly groans of agony.

Yu got up to one knee again and coughed a few times, before regaining his breath. He then materialized Loki's card and crushed it in his palm, summoning the Norse god. He immediately focused silently with a mind charge, and then...

"MEGIDOLA!" Yu roared, and Loki concentrated a huge sphere of almighty energy in his hands, before sending it at mach speed at the blinded, staggered and defenseless Alice, hitting her dead on.

Alice was sent flying back, and crashed on a wall, making a very visible dent in it. She tried to get up and float again, but she didn't find the strength and fell to her knees.

"I-I lost..." She hung her head and sobbed quietly a few times.

Yu got back up on his feet and took a few breaths. He was bruised, and too tired to use any healing move at the moment. He tiredly made his way towards Alice, crouched down before her and asked. "What... are you...?"

She looked up at Yu and gave him the slightest of smiles. "... Be careful..." She said, as she began vanishing in her own aura. "... they're watching..." She whispered, before completely disappearing, only leaving a card behind.

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**There, done. Did I tell you to review already? If I didn't, review, please. Or else I get depressed... demotivated... you know. Hope you enjoyed, see y'all next chapter.**


	5. One Girl's Happiness: End

**Sup? Rather quick update, huh? Anyway, I don't own anything, review, enjoy, the usual.****Let's get this started.**

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Yu picked up the card that Alice left behind. It was like a summoning card, but it lacked something... a certain energy was missing... regardless, Yu stored it in his pocket, and laid back on the ground. He was tired. And he was beaten by a little girl, no less. He blinked twice, and took a few deep breaths.

He blinked again, but he didn't open his eyes afterwards...

...

Yu jerked awake with a finger snap very close to his ear. He gasped deeply, and nearly fell from his strangely comfy seat.

"Calm down, young man. You are fast asleep in the real world..." Said a familiar voice.

Yu finally recomposed himself and focused on the person sat before him. He straightened himself up and replied.

"Oh... hey, Louis." Yu took a look at his surroundings. Lucifer was the only one present in the Fate's Gamble.

"What's up this time?" Yu asked.

"Let's not waste much time. You see, the demon you just defeated.." Lucifer made a gesture with his finger, and the card in Yu's pocket felt warm for a second. "...she was a Fiend. They are a... different... class of demons."

"Oh... and?"

"Since your entrance here, they seem to have become interested in you. You might find more of them as you go on with your journey."

Great. All Yu needed was another Alice to kick his ass all over the place again. He sighed. "Oh, joy..."

Lucifer shrugged and continued. "I suggest you be careful, for they are very strong demons. I'll try to keep tabs on their movements from now on, but are too unpredictable, even for me..."

Yu raised an eyebrow. "But aren't you like, their king? Shouldn't you be able to control them all?"

Lucifer's expression turned more blank than before. "How should I put this... imagine that all the demons are soldiers." Yu nodded. Lucifer continued. "Fiends are like mercenaries. They do pretty much what they want, either because of their nature, or because of their experiences as demons... it's hard to explain. They have more freedom than the other demons, if that helps."

There was a slight pause before Yu spoke again. "O...kay. Thanks for the heads up, I guess..."

Lucifer's usual half smile returned to his face. "I'll have this talked with your friend later. That said, I shouldn't keep you here any longer. Until we meet again..." He smirked a little. "Farewell."

As Yu heard the last words, he felt his conscience slipping away again, as black dots started filling his vision until he could see nothing else.

...

"SENPAI!"

Then he was slapped awake.

Hard.

He groaned and felt his head being lifted off the ground, then placed onto something soft.

"Senpai, are you okay?" Rise asked, after placing Yu's head to rest on her lap.

"Yeah... kinda..." Yu answered.

"Thank goodness!" Rise squealed before quickly hugging Yu, or rather, Yu's head, given the position they were in.

Suddenly, the world became a better place for Yu, and all he could hear was Rise's heart beating inside her chest...

Oh, the feeling of reward after a hard battle...

Some few, but awkward seconds passed before Rise let go of Yu and gave him a snuff soul.

"Thanks." He took it, and stood upon his feet, before summoning Izanagi. He sent the persona after Kanji to cut the veils wrapped around his foot, and bring him to the ground safely. The same was made for Yosuke.

Then he switched to Ishtar, and used a Samarecarm on both of them, waking them up.

"Ugh... is that brat gone?" Kanji asked as he got up to his feet.

"Yeah. She vanished. You can let go now, Yosuke." Yu said, and Yosuke let go of his arm.

Yosuke cleared his throat and quickly ran a hand through his hair before crossing his arms. "So, what exactly WAS her?" He asked. "Rise?" He turned towards her.

"I don't know..." She hung her head. "She didn't feel like a Shadow, but she obviously wasn't human, either..."

"She was a Fiend. At least that's what I've been told." Yu spoke up.

Yosuke raised an eyebrow.

"You'll understand later... somewhat. It's complicated." Yu said in a tone that reached everyone, but the message was mostly directed at Yosuke.

As Yosuke yawned, and Kanji groaned and mumbled, Yu spoke. "Guys, let's go home. I know you wanna discuss stuff now, but save it for later, okay? For now, let's just head back and rest."

They all nodded and headed back to the entrance Hall, where they stored their weapons and equipment silently due to the exhaustion they all felt, and left the TV world.

**-Junes, Electronics Dept-**

Kanji was the first to come out of the TV, and when Yu and Yosuke went through the portal, he was already leaving without a word.

"... what's up with him?" Yosuke asked, as Rise passed through the TV.

"I have no idea... he's changed a lot, lately." Yu replied.

"We should talk to him, sometime. I may not be his best friend, but I'm still worried." Yosuke stated with concern in his tone.

The same concern reminded him of Teddie.

Yosuke knew that Yu was hiding something about him, but he got that it was most likely to not let anyone bother Teddie while he lay low for a while. Maybe he even came across something that might lead to the answer of his existence... who knows? All he knew, was that if Yu was trying to hide something, it was with good reason. That's how much he trusted his partner.

"Yeah, but not now. I'm beat... Let's go home. See ya guys." Yu waved Yosuke and Rise goodbye before heading back home, with more unanswered questions and doubts than he had before.

Why were Fiends targeting him?

How did someone other than a human appear in the Midnight Channel?

What was Lucifer hiding?

**-Dojima Residence-**

Yu headed to his room, got his clothes from his drawer, and went straight to take a bath. He was exhausted. He almost fell asleep in the bathroom. But the questions still lingered about, and refused to leave his mind. What? How? When?

He soaked in for some good 30 minutes before he got off the shower. He went downstairs and got something to eat, alone as usual.

He sighed as he finished his food. The loneliness always weighed a lot whenever he was at home.

He went upstairs to his room, and the first thing he did was crash on his futon. It felt like the whole world fell along with him as he drifted off to sleep.

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**There, done. This is the end of the Alice arc. Hope y'all enjoyed. Review, please. See y'all later.**


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